A recent NASA press release describes the so-called direct observation of a process called “magnetic reconnection.” A total of four spacecraft, which NASA’s calls the Magnetospheric Multiscale, have made several thousand trips through Earth’s magnetic field. In a new scientific paper, mission scientists report the first observation inside a so-called magnetic reconnection event. But is standard solar physics and astronomy correct in its concepts of magnetic reconnection? In this episode, we begin a series of Space News reports on this topic with Bishop Nicholas Sykes, who describes the theoretical foundations for alternatives to be found in the Electric Universe.

On the Sun, conventional science says that magnetic field lines move or merge, and frequently break and reconnect. This is called magnetic reconnection, a mechanism that many solar physicists claim to be responsible for enormous, energetic solar outbursts. Recently, scientists using data from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Spacecraft have published a paper describing the physics inside a so-called magnetic reconnection event. In this Space News, Professor Donald Scott examines these claims, and outlines the fundamental problems with magnetic reconnection from an electrical engineer’s perspective.

The fundamental difference between the Electric Universe and standard cosmology can probably be summarized as follows: The electric universe is a connected universe, where nothing is born or exists in isolation. Filamentary networks of electric currents pervade space, producing the magnetic fields that are now detected at virtually all scales throughout the Universe. Yet even as the existence of electric currents in space has slowly entered the astronomical literature, astronomers still view gravity as the predominant force in the cosmos. Today, Nicholas Sykes discusses the Electric Universe foundations for a new understanding of many phenomena in nature, including our own Sun.

Modern cosmology fuses the concepts of space and time into a thing, called a four-dimensional continuum. Albert Einstein predicted, and recently scientists have claimed to observe ripples in the so-called fabric of space-time. But is it valid to define time in such a way as to reify it, and does a more valid definition of time exist? Today, we explore one of the most basic questions in all of cosmology: What is time?

In an electric universe, all bodies that move within the Sun’s electrical influence are charged bodies. Electric fields produce ionic winds on planets, moons, and even comets, which can transport dust material more efficiently than mechanical wind. A new paper from NASA-funded scientists affirms this tenet of Electric Universe concept.

New discoveries today are forcing planetary scientists to consider completely rewriting the history of the planet Mars. NASA scientists today are expressing their amazement over the completely unexpected discovery of a mineral in a Martian crater. With thin the Marias Pass region of Gale Crater, a Mars rover has discovered a mineral called tridymite, which only forms at superhot temperatures. Could high energy electrical discharges have helped form the mysterious mineral?

A new scientific study provides powerful testimony to the extraordinary influences of electrical forces at the planetary scale. An electric wind recently measured at the planet Venus is said to be sufficiently strong that it can strip an entire planet of all its water components. The co-author of the study, NASA’s Glyn Collinson, said of these findings: "It's amazing and shocking. We never dreamt an electric wind could be so powerful that it can suck oxygen right out of an atmosphere into space. This is something that definitely has to be on the checklist when we go looking for habitable planets around other stars."

Wal Thornhill explains why this discovery is not surprising in an Electric Universe.

This month on Space News, we reported on a recent study that confirms electrostatic dust transportation occurs on airless bodies in space, including comets, asteroids and moons. Nevertheless, few astronomers today consider electrical effects on comets or asteroids when attempting to explain the still mysterious behaviors of these bodies. This may be evidenced in recently published scientific research into a newly discovered active asteroid, called P/2016 G1. In this episode, we explore the possible electrical nature of the asteroid’s comet-like dust emissions.

A new scientific study provides powerful testimony to the extraordinary influences of electrical forces at the planetary scale. An electric wind recently measured at the planet Venus is said to be sufficiently strong that it can strip an entire planet of all its water components. The co-author of the study, NASA’s Glyn Collinson, said of these findings: "It's amazing and shocking. We never dreamt an electric wind could be so powerful that it can suck oxygen right out of an atmosphere into space. This is something that definitely has to be on the checklist when we go looking for habitable planets around other stars."

In Part 2 of this Space News, Wal Thornhill explains why this discovery is not surprising in an Electric Universe.

Of the many mysteries we’ve explored on this series, perhaps those in our own celestial neighborhood stand out the greatest. From consistently surprising atmospheric phenomena on planets, including the Earth, to the enigmatic behaviors of comets, to the ongoing puzzles of the Sun, the evidence for the electrical connectedness throughout the solar system grows with each new discovery. In recent decades, the discovery of completely baffling exoplanet systems have led some astronomers to acknowledge the need for a whole new theory of planet and star formation. In part one of this two part episode, Dr. Michael Clarage, a scientist on the SAFIRE project team, proposes a foundation for a new model of the solar system, based on the principles of electrical engineering.